A counterproposal unveiled at Louisville Metro Council's Democratic Caucus meeting Thursday strikes what most members say is a much-needed balance between new revenue and budget cuts. It marks the first comprehensive alternative to Fischer's plan, two weeks from a strict deadline to decide on any insurance tax hike.

"We've got to start coalescing around an actual solution, versus talking in theory," said Councilman Markus Winkler, D-17th District, who presented the proposal. "And that's where you've got to put pen to paper and you've got to start doing the math and saying, 'This is what it looks like. And this is something I support — or not,' and why."

Winkler is one of five council Democrats who sponsored Fischer's original proposal. But in the weeks since, those sponsors have stepped back from his all-or-nothing approach and joined fellow Democrats in calling for a combination of cuts and revenue.

Democrats hold a 19-7, veto-proof majority on the council and largely control the fate of the tax hike, but time is running out for them to find fat in the budget to slash. Earlier Thursday, a new ad hoc committee dedicated to scrutinizing Fischer's spending was created.

The proposal Winkler presented, which he said came out of conversations with Metro Council members on both sides of the aisle, calls for a more modest increase in the insurance premium tax: raising it from 5 percent to 10 percent over four years, rather than to 15.

It also proposes a rental car tax that would raise $1 million a year and a 1.5 percent increase in auto insurance tax rates, which aren't included in Fischer's plan.

The plan predicts those increases would generate roughly $50 million in new revenue in the next four years. Under the plan, all new revenue would go to the city's ballooning pension bill.

Fischer's proposal, on the other hand, covers the entire projected $35 million shortfall in the upcoming budget. That includes $20 million in pension payments, as well as $15 million in health care costs and lower-than-expected revenue.

His plan would raise insurance premium taxes, on policies except vehicle insurance, from 5 percent to 12.5 percent in the upcoming budget and the next. It would go up again to 13.5 percent in fiscal year 2022 and finally to 15 percent by fiscal year 2023.

Winkler's proposal would instead raise the tax from 5 percent to 9 percent in the upcoming budget and the next. It would go up again to 10 percent in fiscal year 2022 and stay there in fiscal year 2023.

That plan's vehicle insurance tax rate would go from 5 percent to 5.5 percent in fiscal year 2021. It would rise again in fiscal year 2022 to 6.3 percent, then to 6.5 percent in fiscal year 2023.

Winkler predicts that math would mean an additional $3 million in cuts would need to be found in fiscal year 2022, then an additional roughly $18 million in fiscal year 2023. That's on top of the $15 million in cuts the plan seeks to find in the immediate budget.

The new proposal lays out "potential areas of focus" when it comes to budget cuts. The specific cuts will likely be a sticking point for members.

Fischer spokeswoman Jean Porter said in a statement that the mayor and his team have been meeting with council members, including Winkler, on a regular basis and that "we understand they want to see cuts as part of the solution to the budget challenge our city is facing."

"We will continue to hold those conversations, and we will review the proposal made today (Thursday), including its financial assumptions and the impact of potential cuts on an already lean and efficient government," Porter said.

In Thursday's caucus meeting, Democrats appeared open to discussing Winkler's proposal. Fellow sponsors of Fischer's original ordinance, including Bill Hollander, D-9th, Barbara Sexton Smith, D-4th, and Pat Mulvihill, D-10th, called it a good starting point.

Some debate focused on how much specific cuts are laid out in the final ordinance, with Councilwoman Jessica Green, D-1st, and a few others urging the council to take ownership of the power of the purse strings to lay out exactly where cuts will be made.

The full council is expected to discuss the budget shortfall, Fischer's tax hike ordinance and other options at a special committee meeting Monday, ahead of an expected committee vote March 14 and a full council vote March 21.

Councilman Kevin Kramer, R-11th District, who leads the seven-member Republican caucus, said Thursday he hoped to have a list of acceptable cuts on Monday.

Here are some of the potential budget cuts mentioned in the Democrat plan:

Budget cuts, with hiring freezes, for all nonrevenue producing positions and nonessential spending.

A 5 percent salary cut or furloughs for all employees earning more than $90,000 annually.

A $20,000 cut to every Metro Council member's spending.

An increase in Metro employee health insurance premiums.

Elimination of cost-of-living adjustments for the upcoming fiscal year.

Elimination of all take-home vehicles, with minimal public safety exemptions.

Shifting the urban service district to alternating weekly yard waste and recycling; eliminating yard waste collection in winter months.

Moving the Belle of Louisville to private funding.

Returning Youth Detention Services responsibility to the state.

Elimination of funding for the Living Room.

Elimination of capital budget spending on bike lanes for at least two years.

Reducing budgets in every department, focusing on management and communications positions.

Eliminating suburban street sweeping.

Reducing EMS service by one ambulance in areas where suburban districts provide services.

Eliminating support for suburban fire districts.

Winkler's proposal could be added as an amendment to Fischer's existing ordinance.

It also calls for: an attorney general investigation on insurance red-lining, state legislature lobbying for additional taxing authority and a pledge to revisit insurance rates "if additional options become available."